“Marketing for contractors isn't Rocket Surgery. You just need to start”

If you are a Remodeling Contractor you are in the right place

Are you a contractor who is tired of the ups and downs of an inconsistent flow of new customers? Does the unpredictability keep you up at night?

In this blog post, we’ll share 10 powerful marketing tips specifically designed for remodeling contractors that you can implement immediately to produce a steady stream of new customers so you can sleep at night.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to expand your client base, these tips will provide you with the simple actions you need to produce results quickly!

Here are 10 Contractor Marketing Tips and why you should start Using them today 👊

1. Think Of Your Website As Your Digital Truck

When you show up to a customer meeting is your truck clean? Do you have proper signage on it? Of course you do. You are a professional and you look like a pro.

Your website is your digital truck. Most of the time potential customers will see your website well before they ever see your truck. FIRST IMPRESSIONS matter!

Your website doesn't have to be over the top or fancy. But it does need to be well organized, load quickly, look great on mobile, have necessary information, a clear call to action and an easy way to contact you.

This is pretty basic but so many contractors get this simple step so terribly wrong.

2. Tell Your Customer What You Want Them To Do

When someone visits your website do they know what they are supposed to do?

Should they call you? Should they schedule an appointment with your online scheduling tool? Are they supposed to start a fire and send smoke signals?

You need to be very clear in your Call To Action and tell customers exactly what you want them to do. Use a big arrow, bold contrasting colors for buttons, make the phone number standout, whatever it is you need to tell them exactly what you want them to do.

Same goes for every social media post or piece of advertising you ever make. Always have one (only one) action that you want them to take and make it painfully clear.

3. Educate Educate Educate

You are a contractor and you provide a service. The core of what you do is that you have skills and knowledge that your customers do not.

You may be thinking, that if you show a customer how to do what you do they will do it themselves. Most likely not. They don't have the tools, experience or the time.

But what education does do is establish you as an expert and build trust.

You should be come the Bob Vila of contracting in your area. People should know you as the expert.

Right now you have a magic device in your pocket that gives you the power to share your expertise with the world and build trust. All of the things you do every day, which seem simple to you, are magic to potential customers.

Get your phone out and shoot a quick video, explain one small detail of what you do and post to social media:
- How to pick the right grout color.
- What is the difference between granite, quartz and marble countertops?
- Tile shower floor vs fiberglass pan?
- What is LVP?
- What colors are popular right now?

Don't feel comfortable on camera? Take a pic and put some text over it and fill in the rest in the post description.

You could film or photograph it with a potato. The quality of the media doesn't matter. What does matter is the education and story of the post.

4. Answer Your Business Phone Number!!

This is the number one sin of contractors.

Usually the contractor that gets the job is the one who picked up the phone and showed up when they said they would to provide a quote.

But your are busy.
The phone rings and it is an unknown number.
You are in the middle of something or on the other line.
You forget to call them back later or call them back at all.

That could have been your next customer. If you are a kitchen remodeler that could easily have been a $100k opportunity but they just called the next guy.

How much business are you losing every year because you don't answer every call that comes in? $25k $200k $1M?

Having a receptionist is extremely expensive and you can't be available at all times.

But what if there was a way that when a potential customer called your business number any time of day or night and you didn't pick up they automatically got a text back?

That text that told them you are with another customer and asked what would be a good time to talk?

Or even better what if the caller was provided a link to your personal scheduling page and they could pick a time for a call or a quote?

Not only does this filter out the annoying spam calls but you now have a new customer who has committed to a time to talk and you never had to lift a finger to talk to them or schedule them.

Even if never missing a call only brought in one new customer a year what would that be worth to you? How much do you make from your average job?

Want us to create this missed call text back for you? We include this service in our Foundation package with every client we work with and is only $97/month.

In addition to missed call text back we also include: A free custom website that looks great on mobile phones, business phone number, appointment scheduling and automated sms/email follow ups.

What to learn more or get started? Click this LINK to pick a time to talk.

5. Get Social

There has never been a better time in human history to be a business owner. In the old days you had to rely on word of mouth and extremely expensive TV and print ads.

Now you can reach 1,000's of people FOR FREE. You just need to post.

I know right now you have a ton of questions. What do I post? Which platform do I post on? How do I do it right?

Don't worry about the perfect strategy or the perfect post. Just start posting and be yourself. Every day just take one pic or video and post it. The engagement (likes, comments, shares) will tell you what works. Then just do more of that. It's not Rocket Surgery. You just need to start.

The one thing that is important is that you are posting to a social platform where your potential customers spend time. Older people aren't on TikTok, Linkedin is best for business to business sales and a secret a lot of people don't know is that women over 55 click on facebook ads like crazy.

Think about who your customer is and where they spend time online. You should be posting there.

If you are a remodeling contractor it's most likely going to be Facebook and Instagram.

6. Nextdoor Is A Good Place To Be A GOOD NEIGHBOR

Nextdoor is a GREAT way to find new customers.

BUT.... you actually have to be a good neighbor.

If you jump on there and just spam every post with your contact info and offer a free quote it doesn't work.

You need to join neighborhoods that you want to work in and have knowledge about. Then you have to add value and build your reputation. Potential customers will see your business name in your profile, some will click through and some will become customers.

Also, be sure to ask your current and past customers to leave you a review on google and nextdoor.

Once you have some reviews and are established you can run ads. However, our experience running ads on Nextdoor for clients who don't have strong reviews has not been great. But once you have those reviews, ads on Nextdoor are a smashing success!

However, paid ads aren't necessary. Numerous contractors I have worked with have shared that just by spending 10-15 min a day answering questions and helping others has paid huge dividends and doesn't cost a penny.

7. Fix Your Damn Google Business Listing

We know... you had your nephew who is good with computers set it up for you. He is a whiz. Why wouldn't you?

But... he did it wrong and you aren't verified, your service area is wrong, your category is wrong and potentially even worse you are suspended and your listing isn't even showing up!

This is like being a business in the 70's and not being listed in the yellow pages. Its bad. Really bad.

Not only do you not show up in search results but more importantly you don't look like you exist to potential customers.

Put in the time to fix it or you can schedule a time to talk with us and we can help you get it fixed. Google my business set up and optimization is included as part of our foundation package and is only $79/month. Just click here to pick a time to talk.

Also, you have to follow up with customers after the job and ask for a review on google. Having a strong review profile is crucial to your success. One of the first things someone is going to do is google your business name and look at your reviews.

Getting Google reviews is as simple as texting your customers and asking for the review along with providing the direct link to the review site. It often takes a few requests to get them to complete the review but it is so worth the reputation and trust that it builds with potential customers.

We offer a great review management service. We follow up with all of your customers automatically asking for a review and continue sending reminders until the review has been completed. If you want to get started with automatic review management pick a time on our calendar to talk by clicking HERE.

8. Paid digital Ads Are Like Dumping Gasoline On A Fire

Paid ads are the most reliable way to increase your sales. Social media algorithms change. Word of mouth referrals are great one month and non-existent the next. But paid ads can produce consistent results every month.

But you shouldn't run ads without having the basics covered first. What are the basics:
- A functioning website that is mobile friendly.
- A clear call to action that tells visitors what you want them to do.
- An easy way for customers to contact you.
- A way to manage all of your contacts and automated text and email follow ups.

Running ads before you have these basics covered is a waste of money. You are going to pay for people to visit your website but your ability to gain their trust and get them to take action is going to be really poor.

Spending money with no results is no fun. Get the basics right first.

I have the basics done but where should I advertise?

For home remodeling contractors the best place to advertise is Google Ads. When people are looking for a solution to their problem they turn to google. People searching for your service have high intent and are in buying mode.

Then if you want to step it up a notch you can add re-targeting ads on social platforms for people that didn't book an appointment or call.

Why not start on social media? People scrolling facebook aren't looking for a home remodeling contractor. They don't have a problem they are trying to solve. They are looking to be entertained on social media.

However, with re-targeting ads you can remind people who visited your website but didn't take action that you are here to solve their problem.

Have you every looked at something on Amazon and then been scrolling social media later and then seen an ad for that product? That is re-targeting and it works extremely well.

The only exception to the google ads first rule is if you are running a great promotion and will entice people to take action.

Have questions about how you can advertise your business online? Pick a time to talk with us by clicking here.

9. Door Hangers BUT Only Do It This Way

You are on the job at a customers site. Your clean and branded truck is out front and you just finished the job. Time to hit the road.

Wrong!

Now is the time to spend 15 minutes selling.

Print some door hangers or flyers and stop by the neighbors houses and say hi. Let them know you just completed some work for the Jones family next door and that if they ever need your services to please give you a ring. Then hand them the door hangar or flyer.

If they aren't home leave that door hanger but leave a blank space on the door hangar to write in the address that you just did work at.

This works as it shows their neighbors trusted you to do work for them. It builds their confidence and increases the likelihood that they will hire you.

Bonus: Get a feather flag and put it in the customers yard or attach it to your vehicle while you are parked. These work amazingly well!

10. Email Newsletters - But Not The Shitty Kind

Email newsletters work and best part is they are extremely cheap to execute.

The problem is most companies are TERRIBLE at them.

The newsletter isn't sent on a consistent basis, you didn't get a double opt-in or set up the sending domain correctly and it ends up in spam. But the worst offense is just making it about me, me, me the contractor.

Why should the customer open the email? What is in it for them. If the newsletter is just a promo with no real substance or value why would they open it and why would they take action.

If it is just a promo that better be one kick ass promo.

So what should it be about? Share some information that will help, educate and hopefully entertain them. It could be:

- Before and Afters - this is the holy grail of marketing for remodeling contractors.
- Education - You know a TON about construction and your customers likely don't. Think about the questions you get when you are meeting with a new client for the first time. Answer those questions.

Some education examples include:
- How long will it take?
- What role does the customer play in the speed of the project
- Copper vs PEX
- Tile vs LVP
- LED vs Incandescent
- What are the biggest expenses in a kitchen or bath remodel
- The possibilities are endless

Bonus: Have a compelling reason for people to join your email list. Obviously anyone who is a customer you should be gathering their email but what can you do to entice someone to give you their email?

We have found that a remodeling guide pdf is an awesome option. Make the guide specific to the services you provide whether that be decks, kitchens, baths, flooring, etc. This is a great way to collect customers emails and when you get to the appointment you already have them thinking about the questions you are going to ask.

Which one of these will you implement first?

Implementing these 10 powerful marketing tips can make a significant difference in generating new leads and converting them into loyal clients.

Remember, the key to successful marketing is consistency. All of these actions will produce new clients. The trick is to remain consistent and dedicate time every week to generating new clients.

If you would like help getting started or implementing any of these techniques schedule some time to talk with us. We are experts with over a decade of marketing experience growing sales in the construction and remodeling industry.